Publications & Press

Are we losing control of outer space?

Exerpts from OSI Co-Chair Aaron Boley’s 2024 Dan MacLennan Memorial Lecture in Astronomy, held at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. CBC Radio Ideas.

Astronomy and the Proliferation of Space Objects: Strategies for Addressing Orbital Light and Spectrum Pollution

This report is a public version of a discussion paper prepared for the Astro-Sat Workshop held on November 16th and 17th, 2023 in Vancouver, Canada. Workshop participants included members of the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (CPS), and of the CPS Work Package 2 (WP2), as well as other experts from multiple disciplines and backgrounds.

© Aaron Boley and Michael Byers, Outer Space Institute Report, November 2024.

Action Item Paragraphs — OSI Workshop on Orbital Light and Spectrum Pollution

On November 16 and 17, 2023, the Outer Space Institute (OSI) hosted a transdisciplinary workshop that addressed the proliferating issue of orbital light and spectrum pollution, resulting from the rapid increase in satellites placed in Earth orbits.

These paragraphs were authored by participants of the workshop. They do not reflect consensus-based or agreed-on recommendations. Rather, they represent a broad collection of rough ideas, suggestions, and potential action items with the aim of advancing the protection of dark and quiet skies from orbital light and spectrum pollution, through education, advocacy, collaboration, and more.

Security Options for a Troubled World

Discussion hosted by Canadian Pugwash and the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa, with Paul Meyer as a panelist.

Comment on Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s (ISED) consultation on the Policy, Licensing and Technical Framework for Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite (SMCS)

OSI Fellows and Junior Fellows submitted this comment in response to ISED’s proposed framework for the allocation of certain radio frequency bands to mobile services coverage via satellite, with the intention of highlighting the potential threats to radio and optical astronomy that could come from these satellites.

This comment was further endorsed by the President of the Canadian Astronomical Society – Société Canadienne d’Astronomie (CASCA), the Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA), and astronomers from across Canada.

Outer Space Institute

Outer Space Institute
The University of British Columbia
225-6224 Agricultural Rd.
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Canada

coord@outerspaceinstitute.ca

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